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- Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages ;
Dimensions (in inches): 0.65 x 6.90 x 4.20
- Publisher: Penguin USA (Mm);
(November 2002)
- ISBN: 0142002399
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If you read the publisher's review you'll get a really good idea
about what this book is about. So, should you read it? Yes. And who
am I to say you should? Why should you read this? Do you like
mysteries? Have you been looking for something a little different
but still interesting, intriguing perhaps?
Do you like you're protagonist's to be down to earth, humanely
defective, but intelligent and with a sense of good taste? And I do
mean a sense of taste for the finer foods in life. Inspector
Montalbano is one cool cop with a few ticks that make him
intriguingly funny and obtuse.
This novel is witty and has a few new twists that are different
from American/English writers. At first you may find that this novel
"reads" a little differently from what you're used to. The names of
people and places in Sicily may be a little overwhelming too at
first, but don't give up! Read on!
The story is so good that you'll find yourself reading it and the
names and the different style will become a pleasant experience that
may just lead you to read more of this great Italian writer, Andrea
Camilleri. I rated it 4 stars instead of 5, because having read the
next two in the series, "The Terra-Cotta Dog" and "The Snack Thief",
which are both 5 stars to me, this one was good but not as good.
But it's a good book and a good introduction into the world of
Andrea Camillera's sleuth, Inspector Salvo Montalbano. Highly
entertaining. Try it, you'll like it. -William C. Smith from
Swannanoa, NC USA
Andea Camilleri's Silvio Montalbano series has been best seller
material in Europe for years----just recently translated for the
U.S. market.
Camilleri's reserved and nimble writing style loses nothing in
translation.
Montalbano is a highly respected, cultivated Sicilian police
inspector.
In "The Shape of Water," the body of a local, well-connected
politico is discovered with his pants around his ankles in a rough
area populated by hookers and drug dealers. Cause of death appears
to be heart failure---the vic had a history of heart ailments.
Montalbano's supervisors pressure him to do a swift signed,
sealed and delivered natural causes ruling. Many little things
bother the inspector---so he pursues the case.
A generous amount of eccentric, off-center and droll characters
abound----even the garbage men possess Ph.D.s.
Montalbano is a heady, witty, subtle, cynical investigator; not
the pistol packing, bare-knuckles type.
It is an inventive, clever, smart police procedural with three
follow-ups. I am glad I discovered them and look forward to the
entire series. -nobizinfla from Windermere, Florida USA
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